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reader involvement: Part II
New index to quantify connectedness with a title
By Jeff Bercovici
In magazine publishing one longstanding issue has been how to best represent the involvement of a publication's readership, its so-called connectedness, in the larger equation that determines which publication is chosen over another publication. Publishers, understandably, complain that media people simply choose on cost, with little regard for the reader's involvement. Media people respond that they do attempt to take readership into account but that the measures are often inexact. Moreover, they say, whatever weight they do give to involvement won't satisfy publishers whose magazines are not selected. Yesterday, Media Life looked at an approach to measuring reader involvement that is being advanced by two Reader’s Digest Association executives, Britta Ware, U.S. director of research, and Eric Gruseke, publisher. Today they explain how their Involvement Index would work.
Among the initial challenges facing the creators of the Involvement Index was a substantial one of how to quantify the degree of "connectedness" between a magazine and its readers.
One measure they were able to discard right away was the cost of a single copy or subscription, for the simple reason that very few people seem to consider it an accurate reflection of involvement.
"At all the industry events we've attended, people have come across and said price paid isn't an indication of wantedness," says Eric Gruseke, publisher of Reader's Digest and one of the proponents of the Involvement Index.
A more promising measure was the average amount of time readers spend with each issue. This was especially attractive to Reader's Digest, which ranks among the top magazines in terms of reading time.
But upon examination, this too proved to be an imperfect measure, with the potential to favor certain types of magazines, such as those with long articles (think Sports Illustrated vs. ESPN The Magazine).
In the end, it was decided that the generic form of the Involvement Index would be based on three criteria: the average time a magazine's readers spend per issue, the average loyalty of its readers (e.g., how many of the last four issues they have read), and the preference they show for the magazine (i.e., how readers respond to the question "Is the magazine one of your favorites?").
Agencies that choose to adopt some form of the Involvement Index for their planning can customize it by adding other variables and adjusting the relative weights they assign to the variables.
They can then decide how much weight to give the Involvement Index relative to more established measures such as CPM and audience composition.
Gruseke says it’s the idea of involvement rather than the exact mix of criteria that is important.
"If we can bring it to the forefront of media selection, we win."
What the Index's creators believe will make it attractive to agencies is that it uses the data generated by MRI, which are already universally used by planners.
"It allows a planner to make a decision based on an existing measurement rather than a judgmental measurement," says Britta Ware, Reader’s Digest’s U.S. director of research.
Moreover, quantifying involvement with existing data makes it easier for agencies to sell the idea of quality circulation to their clients.
"Clients are looking for a number, not the opinion of a 25-year-old media planner," says Ware.
Gruseke and Ware envision the Involvement Index as a tool that will encourage planners to make more varied buys--mixing mass-market, broad reach magazines with smaller, more targeted ones--and help them notice magazines that might not otherwise stand out from the competition.
An example of how the Involvement Index might suggest a less obvious buy can be seen in the parenting category, where the top-three magazines in terms of composition of women 18-49 are Child (244), American Baby (244) and Working Mother (239).
Family Fun is not far behind them with a women 18-49 comp index of 230. On the Involvement Index, however, it is a clear No. 1, with a 303 versus Child’s 233, American Baby’s 219 and Working Mother’s 164.
There remain bugs to be worked out, though.
Judy Vogel, senior vice president and media research director for BBDO New York, says she is not sure the MRI’s measurements are sensitive enough to show significant variations in involvement among magazines.
But Vogel says her agency will probably end up adopting some form of the Involvement Index.
"I absolutely think there will be some value in looking at reader involvement," she says.
"This does give us a quantitative value, but it has more of a qualitative feel. It helps get us a little closer to where we ultimately want to be."
January 29, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Jeff Bercovici is a staff writer for Media Life.
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